After three seasons of fixing other people’s houses on his hit HGTV show Disaster DIY, host Bryan Baeumler is now building his own dream home.

And he’s doing it on television.

The Oakville resident started construction on his new house this spring in the southwest part of town, with the cameras rolling. The footage will be front and centre for a new HGTV show called House of Bryan, which debuts in January 2010.

Besides construction of the new house, the show will also focus on Baeumler’s family. His wife, Sarah, runs local dance school Balletomane. The pair also has two young children, Quintyn, 4, and Charlotte, 2.

“The show is about what it’s like building your own home while you are filming a show, having two kids, running a business, your wife is running a ballet studio, and the chaos that is involved in all of that,” he said. “And I only have six months to build the house.”

The Baeumler bungalow has been destined for renovation for quite a while. It was a promise Baeumler made to Sarah when the couple bought the 900-sq.-ft. house built in the 1950s about five years ago.

“I promised Sarah, who was my girlfriend at the time, that in a year or so, we would renovate,” he said. “That was about five years ago.”

The pair was married and soon had their son, Quintyn. That pushed back plans to add a second storey. Then Baeumler’s pitch for Disaster DIY was picked up by HGTV, once again delaying construction. Next came another addition to the family, Charlotte.

“We filmed two more seasons of the show and were extremely busy,” Baeumler said. “Then I got home one day and my wife and architect were standing in the driveway staring at the house, so thousands of dollars later, we had brand new, custom home plans.”

The new two-storey, 2,700-sq.-ft. house will feature four bedrooms and a large, walk-in closet. There will also be five bathrooms, including three upstairs, one on the main level and one in the basement.

Baeumler said he worked with the architect to ensure the design of the exterior blends in with the other houses on the street.

“We’re trying to fit in with the neighbourhood,” he said. “It’s not a monstrous, overbearing home. It is a normal, family home with enough space for what we need right now.”

Going green is also a focus for Baeumler, who is incorporating several features to help the planet. Two such features are a greywater system and solar heating.

During the build, the Baeumler family is renting a home in the area. The house is slated to be done by November.

While he is filming House of Bryan and building his dream home, Baeumler is also overseeing projects under his Oakville-based construction company, Baeumler Quality Construction.

“I have 17 other retail jobs on the go right now,” he said. “We’ve got four other houses we’re building and the remainder are renos and additions. So I’m using my own crew as I need them.”

Thirteen shows are planned for the first season of House of Bryan. Each will be 21 minutes in length. The show has been signed for three seasons. Baeumler is already working on ideas for seasons two and three. Although it is his own house that is front and centre this time around, Baeumler said filming House of Bryan is actually less intense than Disaster DIY.

The first three seasons of that show have been filmed. HGTV has renewed the show’s contract for three more seasons.

“Filming this project is a lot easier than filming the DIY series, because on DIY we are running three jobs concurrently and filming three shows over three weeks,” he said.

Despite Baeumler’s extensive experience in the construction industry, including running his own company, even he has not been immune from construction delays and stress that plague average homeowners.

“We’re already behind. That’s the thing about building or renovating, and I try to hammer it through to so many people, is that there are so many factors and even when you do it everyday, there are still delays,” he said. “Hopefully people watch House of Bryan who are doing a reno and pulling their hair out, and they realize it’s not a big deal and that you have to prioritize bricks and mortar with kids and family.”